Alan Jackson's show in Reading was a hit full of hits

Country superstar Alan Jackson delivered the hits Friday night to a mostly full Sovereign Center crowd in Reading. He didn’t want anyone to forget just how many number one hit singles that he has had on Billboard’s list of the “Top 30 Country Songs” and he entered the stage with the names of the songs popping up on a giant video screen behind the stage. Hit after hit after hit—35 number ones in all. That pretty much set the pace for the rest of the 90-minute evening.

Jackson, a Georgia-native who has made Nashville his home for the last two decades, is in his early 50s now and is a member of Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry. With his boot-tapping honky tonk hits, he works a crowd like a younger Willie Nelson, pausing during instrumental interludes to sign autographs and keep delivering the hits with little stage banter.

He opened his set with the ever-popular “Gone Country,” reminding everyone in attendance that the night was about feel-good country music. When his band “The Strayhorns” launched into the opening riff of “Good Time,” fans in the front row help up personalized signs with the title of song. “It’s Friday night and these people are here for a good time,” Jackson said.

Midway through the set, Jackson playing the storyteller, sat on a stool and reflected on some of his earliest hits. Video screens alternated between airing live footage of the show and the videos for the songs. When the band played “Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning)” Jackson’s 9/11 tribute, the screen faded to black with a lights that resembled stars. As the song ended, Jackson stood facing the screen with the icon image of firefighters hoisting the American flag at Ground Zero.

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As the set concluded with Jackson’s “Where I Come From,” the audience watched as hand-held video footage was projected onto the screens of the Reading area. Images of Philly teams drew the largest applause.

Before playing “Here in The Real World,” the songwriter went on to explain that it wasn’t his first single. His first single failed on the charts and he went on to write another song while his wife was pregnant with their first child. Two things became clear: Jackson admires Confucius quotes and he must love his job because apparently writing hit songs is not work to him. “I haven’t worked a day since,” he remarked.